is vs ISDN, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“is” is a verb and “ISDN” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#478
“is” frequency rank: #31,114
“ISDN” frequency rank: 31592
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	is	ISDN
Definition	[1] umgangssprachlich, dialektal, norddeutsch: 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens des Verbs sein	Internationaler Standard für digitale Telekommunikationsnetze

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set is and ISDN apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch

4 ch

ISDN

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: is is [ɪs] while ISDN is [ˌiːʔɛsdeːˈʔɛn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “is” sits inside “ISDN”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

is is recorded at frequency rank #478, classified as averb, pronounced [ɪs]. ISDN is at rank #31,114, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ˌiːʔɛsdeːˈʔɛn].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 31592, this pair ranks #1,725,011 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of is vs ISDN

Shared letters: is. Private to "is": -. Private to "ISDN": dn.

"is" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ISDN" · 4 letters · shape VCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

ISDN ← idsn · isddn · isdnn · issdn

Frequency comparison

is#478

ISDN#31,114

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "is" and "ISDN" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "is" is a verb and "ISDN" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "is" or "ISDN"?

"is" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #478 in our German list, against #31,114 for "ISDN". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering is vs ISDN

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “is”; for an abbrev, it's “ISDN”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “is” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable